Psychoneuroimmunology

Psythoneuroimmunology is the study of-the relationships among behavioral neural and endocrine, and immune processes. Bidirectional pathways connect the brain and the-immune system and provide:the foundation for neural, endocrine, and behavioral effects On immunity. Examples of such effects are conditioned and stress-induced changes in immune function and in susceptibility to immunologically mediated diseases. These-data indicate that researchers should no longer study the immune system as if it functioned independently of other systems in the body. Change; in immune function are hypothesized to mediate the effects of psychological factors on the development of some:diseases, and research strategies for studying the clinical significance of behaviorally induced changes in immune function are suggested.